“I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done and keep doing for me, Ricky. You’re a true friend.”

Chris walked into the warehouse, oblivious to what his friend had planned for him. Ricky followed him and made sure to close the big metal door behind “Sure thing, dawg. Sure thing.”

Chris looked around. “So, this warehouse belongs to Lucas?”

“Yes, he uses it to store some liquor shipments among other things. Why do you ask?”

“You talked me out of killing him, but I still want revenge. Maybe I should burn this place down on my way out. Cost him some money.”

“You really are incapable of thinking about anyone but yourself, aren’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just turn around.”

Chris turned to face his friend and was met by a gun pointed right to his face. He stared at the gun in shock “What are you doing, Ricky? Put the gun down!”

Ricky didn’t answer and simply pulled the trigger.

For Chris, time seemed to stop for a couple of seconds. When it resumed, he reached to feel his wound with his right hand, and then raised it in front of his eyes, looking in disbelief at his own blood.

He fell onto his knees, looked at the man he thought was his friend, and asked “Why?”

Ricky got closer to Chris, still pointing the gun at him “Here he is. The idiot, he has always been. I’m going to enjoy this though. Your final moments of being dumb. God, I hate you.”

“But what have I ever done to you to deserve this?”

Ricky started shouting, waving the gun in Chris’s face “You dumb bastard. You know exactly what you’ve done. You came to me like a lost puppy. I took you in. I protected you. I fed you. I found you a means of living. And what did you do to repay me, huh? You EMBARRASSED me!”

Chris checked his wound again. It was in his abdomen. He couldn’t tell if it hit any vital organs, but it was bleeding a lot. He started pressuring it with his hand, trying to buy a bit more time “How? What did I do exactly?”

“Oh you are even dumber now than you’ve ever been. Do you know how streets work? It all comes to credibility. The more reliable and credible you are, the more respect you get. Hell, even if you’re a reliable snitch, you’d get some respect.”

“And I hurt your credibility? Is that why I deserve to die?”

“Oh you’ve done more than that. You embarrassed me in front of my boss. I told him I’ve got a friend. I told him he’s a good asset to us. I told him I explained the deal to him. But that friend ended up being a chicken and made a liar out of me.”

“You never told me I’ll be pimping out young girls.”

“What difference does it make to you?” Ricky shouted as he kicked Chris, forcing him to fall on his back “You knew it was going to be a job in the dark. Does it make a difference what it was? Is selling drugs more honorable? What about selling guns? Did you have any better choices anyway?”

“You said it was dark work for a club owner. I thought I’ll be smuggling alcohol, or beating up drunk guys who get too excited. But not pimping out barely legal girls.” Chris gathered some strength and defiantly added “That’s not the kind of man I am. I’m not you.”

“Oh that’s your problem. You thought you’re better than me, didn’t you?” Ricky followed his sentence with another kick to Chris’s side “You thought you’re the better man because you accepted being poor? That doesn’t make you a good man, that makes you a stupid, miserable man. In fact, you weren’t even a man. Men don’t break their promises and let others take the blame for their actions. I got punished for a long time because of your actions. It took me years to rebuild what you’ve destroyed for me, you filthy dog.”

Chris coughed out some blood “I was and I still am more of a man than you ever will be. I never lived off of exploiting young girls. I was indeed dumb. I’ll give you that. I was too dumb to see you’re a disgusting piece of shit.”

Ricky’s fury took over him. He couldn’t believe that even while dying, Chris still has some fight and arrogance in him. He kept kicking him frantically.

“You..dumb..bastard..you..ignorant..piece..of..shit..I will kill you..I fucking will.”

Ricky stopped to take a breath. He looked at Chris, who curled up in the fetus position, trying to protect his body from the vicious assault. He couldn’t see his face, so he reached, trying to turn him on his back again “Let me see your ugly mug. I want to see the life coming out of you as I..”

All of a sudden, Chris moved swiftly, pulling Ricky into him, on the floor, while holding the hand that had the gun, pointed far away.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Ricky couldn’t comprehend what Chris had done, until he was already down. He didn’t doubt that he could beat him though. Chris was wounded and bleeding fast.

“Let me go, you piece of shit” Ricky shouted as he tried to free his hand holding the gun, and shoot Chris once and for all.

Chris didn’t respond though. He needed to focus all the strength left in him to control Ricky’s movement. He had a height advantage and therefore, he used his long right leg to trap both of Ricky’s legs. Then, he pushed with his upper body and left leg as hard as he could to get on top.

It was difficult and took a few attempts, but eventually, Chris was sitting on Ricky’s chest, with his left hand pinning down Ricky’s right hand, which held the gun, to the floor. He then used his right knee to hold down the left arm of Ricky.

“Now, who’s the dog?” Chris started punching Ricky on his jaws “Who’s the piece of shit? Who’s the idiot?”

After a few punches, Ricky’s grip on the gun weakened, allowing Chris to snatch it. He stood up, holding the gun in his right and pressuring his wound with his left, looked down on bleeding Ricky, and pointed the gun to his chest.

“Please. Don’t kill me. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I was blinded by rage. Please, don’t do this.”

“Oh you’re sorry? You took ten years of my life because of your hatred and your inferiority complex, and now you’re sorry? You just tried to kill me and you’re now sorry? Oh, everything is fine now since you’re sorry. No, I don’t think so. Say hi to the devil for me.”

Chris prepared to pull the trigger, except that he was interrupted by a strange voice shouting. “Chris, stop!”

Chris quickly pointed the gun tatthe source. “Stay back! I’ll shoot if you come any closer.”

“It’s okay. I’m not your enemy. My name is Jonathan. I’m a detective with NYPD” Joanthan walked slowly towards Chris, while raising his hands in the air.

“Not a step closer, detective. I have enough bullets for both of you.”

“It’s okay. I’m not coming any further.” Jonathan stopped where he was. “But you don’t want to shoot anyone, Chris. Not me or even him. You want to put the gun down.”

“You don’t know what I want.”

“I do. I have done nothing but study your life since your escape. I know your mother blamed you for your father’s absence, and abused you for it. I know you wanted to become independent and earn money the right way, and only turned to Ricky when all other roads were blocked.”

Chris started to become more calm and listen to what Jonathan was saying, although he kept aiming the gun at him. He sneaked a look at Ricky. He was still on the floor and barely moving.

“I know you didn’t kill that girl either. You were set up. You only confessed because you were psychologically tormented for hours by a corrupt cop who lied to you about evidence. And above all, Chris. I know you’re a good man. That’s how I know you don’t want to become a killer now.”

“A good man? Not anymore. They killed that good man long ago. They created a killer out of me.”

Jonathan noticed he started getting to Chris “It’s not over for you yet, Chris. I will help you. I already found Rebecca and she is in the station now, confessing against Ricky. Put this gun down, and your name will be cleared. Ricky will go to jail for what he did. You will be able to take back your life. Only thing you need to do is put this gun away.”

Chris seemed to seriously consider Jonathan’s suggestion. He suddenly started feeling the pain from his gunshot wound, and it showed on his face.

“We can get you help. I already called for backup. Cops and medics are on the way. We can save you. This isn’t the end for you.”

Chris looked at Jonathan’s eyes, trying to find out if he’s telling the truth. He was feeling so exhausted and overwhelmed by his confrontation with Ricky. He’s been through so much. That’s why he bent down and put the gun on the floor. He then took a couple of steps back to allow Jonathan to pick it up.

Jonathan walked and leaned towards the gun, while keeping an eye on Chris ”Thank you, Chris. You’ve done the right thing. You’ve now been saved.”

He reached to pick up the gun off the ground, as a loud gunshot sound pierced the silence in the warehouse. Jonathan immediately pointed the gun he had picked up at Ricky, but he was still on the floor in pain and had his hands above his head. He held no guns.

Jonathan looked at the warehouse only entrance, and saw a man standing there, holding a smoking gun.

“Stop right there and drop your gun now.”

The man complied and dropped his gun. He then took a couple of steps back and fell onto his knees, knotting his hands behind his head in a clear sign of surrender.

Jonathan quickly turned to Chris. His suspicions were true. This gunshot was aimed for him. It left him laying on his back, in a huge pool of his blood, gushing from a big gunshot wound in his chest. He was undoubtedly dead.

The sirens of the police cars and ambulances faintly sounded from afar, but Jonathan believed Ricky was no more a danger, so he approached the shooter slowly. He couldn’t see him well at first, due to the bad lighting in the warehouse. As he got closer, he realized who it was. It was Warden James.

“Warden! You killed Chris!”

Warden James looked Jonathan in the eyes “I never lost a prisoner in my career. I was never fooled by a prisoner. For thirty damn years, I was the perfect prison warden. I was so close to an honorable retirement, and I lost it all because of his escape. He, the one prisoner that I was proud of the most, was the one that brought me dishonor and shame in my final days.”

“But how did you find him?”

“I didn’t have to. I just had to follow you. I have followed you ever since you left my office. That’s the whole reason I asked my old friend, Chief Willis, to send me his brightest detective for this case. I knew the usual routine police work wouldn't get me to him fast enough. I needed a mind that specialized in hunting murderers. I needed you.”

“But he isn’t a murderer. I could prove his innocence. He was redeemed.”

“It doesn’t matter if he was wrongfully accused or not. He was my prisoner, and he escaped. That is enough of a crime for me. No chance. Not under my watch. Now, he has met my justice. Now, I’m the one who is redeemed.”

“You will also meet justice very soon. From now on, you’re no longer a warden. You’re a murderer.”

“That is something I’m willing to live with. As long as I’ve done my duty.”

Shortly, the police invaded the warehouse. Jonathan identified himself and ordered them to arrest the warden and Ricky. The medics checked Chris, but they confirmed what Jonathan had thought. He was long gone.

With his death, the case of the fugitive was officially closed.

*******